Cute stuff Kaitlyn said this week

Daddy says something really funny. Kaitlyn starts laughing hysterically and says, "Daddy, you're killing me!!"

I ask Kaitlyn if we should get in the car and go. She says,"Let's hit the road Jack!" (Do I say that???)

I often call Kaitlyn "Pumpkin" as a pet name. So now when Kaitlyn wants to compliment me she looks at me so sweetly and says, "Mommy you're a pumpkin." Hmmm.. fat and orange...

We are working on learning people's whole names. Here are some names so far according to Kaitlyn....

1. KK Weir (herself)

2. Daddy Wuss Weir (very descriptive- Russ Weir)

3. Mommy Anja Weir (translation Angel Weir)

4. Oka Dot Doroty Fosta (translation Polka Dot Dorothy Foster)

NOW THIS IS WHERE IT GETS GOOD

5. papaw doroty fosta (translation Grandpa Mark Foster!!)

Hee hee!!! We are still having to work on Juanita (Russ' mom's name) that's a mouthful right now. It's pretty much Auta Weir. Russ dad is just POP and that's all. Hey we're working on it.

That's all for now folks!! Angel :0)

Great news this week

Well first of all things are going really well. I found out some really great news. Well a few great things actually!

1. Zoe Mirna gets to stay with us the entire week. We thought she just got to have visits during the day. This will be so much better for bonding.

2. Plane tickets and hotel were a lot cheaper than I thought they would be. That will make it so much easier to visit her.

3. Our authentication charges came out much lower that budgeted. Texas is apparently one of the cheapest states for getting this done. Plus the agency didn't charge us for authentication processing because I did the leg work.(with a lot of verbal coaching from Lindsey-case worker) So the grand total of savings issssss $1400!!! Wow! What a blessing. That pretty much covers the cost of a trip to go visit. So cool!

4. We can e-mail letters and pictures to Zoe/Mirna whenever we want. (as long as we don't overdue it.. Hee hee) and they will translate them, print them and read them to her.

5. Our dossier is in Guatemala now!! We are really trucking along!

6. The immigration department-overseas adoption/orphans division has all our paperwork now. I tried to call today to get things expedited but they were closed for Veteran's Day. I'll call again first things Monday. Please pray...

7. We have the most supportive group of people around us!! We have already had so many people around us ask how they can help or offer to get clothes and gifts for Zoe. Just as important are the people constantly offering encouragement and prayers for our Zoe... I even have an amazing offer from a sweet friend to help me sow everything for her room for free!!

By the way (SHAMELESS PLUG COMING!!!) Susarah is a talented seamstress who is just starting her own business. If you need some sowing done I have your gal!!! I'll take pictures of the room when we're done so you can see her many talents.

Going to visit Zoe/Mirna

I just bought our plane tickets. It's official! We are going to visit Zoe Dec 26th-31st. YEAH!! Kaitlyn will stay with my mom and Russ' mom. Zoe will visit us at the hotel all day each day and go to her foster home at night. WE ARE SO EXCITED. We will get to celebrate Christmas with her.

I wish Kaitlyn could come too but I think it's more important that we save the money so that we can visit more often. We plan to go again in February for her birthday. She was born on Feb 14th. A Valentine's baby!

I pray that after that visit it will only be a month or so till we bring her home for good. If things go slower we'll just grow some more cash on our money tree and visit again in early May. :0) God has always provided. He will again.

Please Lord bring her home quickly and be with our little girl. Please hold her while we can't and let the people around her care for her. I pray that she will feel safe and that she will know even now that we love her and that You love her.

The Last Week

Well it was quite a week! Lindsey, my case worker, said she's never seen a Dossier ready to be sent to Guatemala so quickly!! She said we easily cut a month off of our wait to go get Zoe/Mirna. God is faithful! Here is what I've been up to the last week...

We accepted the referral on Tuesday. We spent the evening filling out forms and doing stuff from home. I did my best to get REALLY organized and wrote out all my mile long to do lists.

The rest of the week was spent running around chasing down documents! The amazing part was how smoothly it went. I walked into government agencies multiple times this week and never waited ONCE!! Who ever heard of not waiting in a government office. I'm talking like 4 times with no line and helpful service! If that's not a miracle I don't know what is!

I only had a couple of people who weren't immediately on board and ready to do whatever we needed. Everyone was TRULY amazing and so helpful. For those who needed convincing I had NO PROBLEM begging, pleading and pulling out the sympathy card whenever neccesary!!! The fact that Zoe has a terrific smile and I pulled out her picture at every stop didn't hurt at all! Thank you Lord for little miracles...

Yesterday Kaitlyn and I drove to Austin to have everything authenticated, then to the Guatemalan consulate in Houston to have them stamped. Then I overnighted everything to Lindsey at Dillon. She sent it TODAY to Guatemala. WOW!!! Only a million more steps to go!! OK for everyone who has been wanting to know the WHOLE PROCESS here you go. YOU ASKED FOR IT!!! If you find yourself nodding off just skip to the end for my timeline. :0)

SO NOW WHAT HAPPENS???

Here is the process. I'll try to insert approx time periods. The next really important thing we need is the I-171H. We are waiting for them to recieve our homestudy. Once they have it we will call and ask them to expedite our case because we have an older child. PLEASE PRAY FOR FAVOR WITH THE IMMIGRATION OFFICE-ORPHAN'S DEPARTMENT!!! If they will process our case immediately it will save us 1-2 months of waiting.

(PHASE A 2-3 months from now)

1. Guatemalan documents needed for DNA (*Mothers HIV test, Birth certificate for the mother and child, Child ID and about 10 other documents) are gathered and when they are ready they are put with the family’s G-28, I-600, and I-171H and are submitted to the Embassy to request authorization for DNA testing to be done on the birth mother and child. If all is correct, the consent is given for the birthmother to sign to have the DNA test done. DNA Authorization is given by the U.S. Embassy and after the authorization is cleared by Dillon and the Lab that reads the samples, an an appointment is scheduled for the DNA test is done.

2. The samples are taken in Guatemala by an Embassy approved Doctor, and sent to a lab in the U.S. The actual DNA testing is done by a laboratory in the U.S. approved by the U.S. Immigration. The birthmother and child do DNA together and a picture is taken of them together. This usually occurs about two months after the POA’s have gone to Guatemala. A certified copy of the DNA match will be sent to Dillon International.

(PHASE B 3-7 weeks after PHASE A) this part has been taking around 7wks lately because the embassy is overwhelmed with all the issues facing them due to the mudslides. They have just added 3 staff so maybe it will help.

3. Upon receipt of a DNA result confirming the parental relationship, the Embassy will either approve the case or refer it for further investigation. The Embassy may require an interview with the birthmother to confirm her consent that the child can be adopted by U.S. citizens. Once the Embassy has given “pre –approval” the case can move forward. (The Embassy usually takes about 3 weeks to issue pre-approval) Dillon will have the family email the Embassy to inquire about pre-approval.

This actually occurs right away during the first 2 months

4. The lawyer submits all of the documents to Family Court, and petitions

the family court to assign a social worker to investigate the case.

5. A family court Social worker reviews the family’s dossier, interviews the

birth mother, and sees the child in foster care. The social worker then writes a report summarizing the facts of the case and attesting to the reasons that the birth mother can not care for her child. The Family Court social worker approves the adoption and the birth mother signs consent for adoption a second time. Then the case must be approved by the Judge in the Family court the case is assigned to.

____________________________________________________________

A CASE CAN MOVE ON TO STEP 6 WHEN IT HAS FAMILY COURT APPROVAL, DNA MATCH, AND EMBASSY PRE APPROVAL OF DNA.

(Phase C a couple of days after phase B) this phase takes up to 30 days for each time you go through PGN. It is very rare to get approved the first time through. Although that is what I'm praying for!! If your case get "kicked out" of PGN it takes just a couple of days to get resubmitted and up to another 30 days for review.

6. The lawyer submits a petition for approval of the adoption case to a

notarial officer of the Attorney General’s office (Procuraduria General de la Nacion) of PGN. (Note: a notary in Guatemala is an attorney with additional powers, not simply someone who certifies a signature as in the US)

7. A PGN attorney is assigned to the case and PGN reviews everything, all of the documents, to make sure there are no mistakes or that there is anything false and checks out the family background history. PGN has anywhere from 20 to 30 business days to approve the case or ask for new documents. PGN often requests documents to be redone. Each time this happens the case is rejected (called a previo) it will go back in after the new documents are obtained. Each time a case goes back into PGN they have another 20 to 30 days to review it. PGN also can require the birthmother to appear before the court to give a verbal relinquishment. At least ONE rejection SHOULD be expected. PGN will issue an approval for the adoption to proceed and be approved. The lawyer then meets with the birth mother for the final sign off giving her approval to the adoption.

The (PHASE D immediately following PHASE C following final steps take approximately 3 to 6 weeks to complete)

8. The adoption decree is written and issued by the lawyer, the birth mother signs the final decree and the child is legally now the child of the adoptive family.

9. The final decree must be approved by the Civil Registry in the municipality where the child was born. Once it is approved, A new birth certificate is then issued by that Civil Registry with the child’s first and middle name staying the same and last name changing to that of the adoptive parents.

10. The Lawyer takes the new birth certificate and applies for a Guatemalan passport. The passport is generally issued within 1 to 2 business days.

11. The final decree and other documents are translated into English by a translator certified and approved by the US Embassy regulations.

12. The lawyer then takes all of the paperwork to the U.S. Embassy and requests approval for the family to come file an I-600 for an orphan visa.

13. The Embassy authorizes the visa and issues an approval on pink papers called a “pink slip”. The pink slip is generally issued 48 hours after the lawyer requests it.

14. After the pink slip has been issued then the family can travel and file their

I-600 at the Embassy.

15. Family must be in Guatemala two business days (Mon – Thurs). Family will be taken to the Marriott hotel via a shuttle; and their child will be brought to them there.

16. Child has usually already had their Embassy exit physical before the arrival of the family. If not then the child will go to the doctor the same day the family comes in if on a weekday. If family comes in on a weekend, they will go with child for Embassy doctor appointment on Monday morning (if the physical has not been done yet).

17. Then your family will go to the Embassy to file their I-600 along with the other needed documents and pay the visa fees to obtain a Visa for the child. You will arrive at the Embassy at 7:30 or 8:30am and wait for an appointment which is usually done by 10am. This is where you will submit ALL papers. Then they will tell them to return either later that day or the next morning to pick up the Visa.

18. Once the Visa is given to your family, you are done and they can either fly home the next day or stay longer to sight see.

**children are issued an IR4 visa in Guatemala (unless BOTH adoptive parents traveled to see their child prior to adoption completion!) which means that after post placement is complete with your social worker each family needs to complete the re-adoption process in order that their child be granted automatic citizenship.

THEN SHE'S HOME FOR GOOD!

Here is how I figure the time scale.....

On the absolute amazing everything goes perfect end we could go get her in about 20-22 weeks- early to mid April

On the average timing of what we should expect we would go get her in about 27-29 weeks- mid to late May

On the ARRGGG everything is going slow timing we would bring her home in about June or July... Eeek I hope not!!

Do we have the record????

The record for the fastest Dossier paperwork ever collected that is. I don't know if we broke any records or not but this week has been amazing! It has gone VERY quickly. I am so grateful for your prayers and support. Some more big stuff will be happening in the next couple of days. I will give you a full update on the whole process tommorrow. Right now I am WIPED OUT. I can't even blog anymore. Over and out blogging buddies. I am sooo happy and sooo tired......zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Little Miracles

I just wanted to say a sincere and deep thank you to all of you. I'm feeling choked up while I write this. We have received such unbelievable support from so many of you. I am forever grateful. So many of you have written encouraging notes, reference letters, witness letters, given out hugs and listened to me ecstatic and freaked out!!! We are so blessed! We had over 320 people visit our blog the day we sent out news of Zoe's referral. What a blessed little girl we have. She already has a multitude of people who care for her and are praying for her. You are such a part of this process. We thank you so much for praying.

Dossier prep is going very well. It's looks like (Lord willing and the creek don't rise) I will drive to Austin on Monday morning to get my 10 million notarized documents authenticated and then straight to Houston to turn them into the consulate.

It hasn't been without hiccups or stress. Yesterday I had my first official adoption process meltdown. Basically the lady at the printer shop told me she couldn't give me color copies of my passport cause it's illegal but my paperwork says I have to have color copies. I proceeded to rush to my car and melt into tears. I'm recovered and back on track now. We got it all worked.

I just NEED to say that my adoption agency has been AMAZING. Not good not even wonderful. FREAKING AMAZING!!! My case worker Lindsey is fairly close to an angel. I'm voting sainthood!! I have called that poor women on the phone approx 30-40 times this week. Do I need this? Should I sign that? Could you find this out? How quick can I get that? Can I get that right this minute please??? She has been a jewel. She has NEVER been anything but patient and kind and caring. Tami (the Guatemalan Director) is just as wonderful. Oh and don't forget Pat who has worked tirelessly on our home study despite being incredibly busy. Then there are all the people in the background that we'll never even know about. THANK YOU!! I vote that we put adoption workers in the class with firefighters and teachers and senators. You people may never know (till heaven) how many lives you have touched or how many children you have saved. So here's to the heroes!!!

This week has been full of big and little miracles. Thank you to everyone who said, Yes I'll help you." You helped us bring Zoe home

All of our lives are full of little miracles. Take a look around you. Don't miss it. Don't think you have to wait to hear God speaking to you. He whispers to us constantly in everything around us. Don't dismiss it. Embrace it.

Thank you. You are part of our miracle.

Mathew 18:5

And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.

It's A GIRL!!!!

BIG NEWS!!! HUGE NEWS!!! We have a refferal!!!!

That's the part you expected. Get ready for the part you didn't expect!!! She's six years old!!!

She is beautiful and precious and I just know that you will all fall in love with her just like we have!!!

I know. I know it's not exactly what we were expecting but we are so excited and feel so good about this little one as a match for our family. I'll tell you all about it. Here are some of the questions I bet you're asking.

Had you been thinking about an older child?

Russ and I have been very open to an older child adoption. We have done EXTENSIVE research into bonding etc... Our main concern in adopting a child older than Kaitlyn was that we needed to have significant knowledge that this child had bonded with people in the past. Research shows that a child who has bonded in the past will most likely bond again.

How did you decide that this was your little girl?

A month or so ago I was reading the news on the internet about the horrible devastation in Guatemala due to the mudslides. I told Russ that I thought that maybe our little girl would come to us through this tragedy. He told me to call the agency and check it out. So I did. I asked them if any children had come available for adoption due to the mudslides. Our case worker told me that it was very unlikely that it would happen anytime soon. So I dismissed it and went on.

So Friday I got an e-mail from the agency saying that there were several new waiting children available. "Waiting" means they are ready to be adopted but have not found their forever family for some reason. In this little girl's case it was most likely because she is a bit older than most children adopted from Guatemala. I immediately looked at the pictures and shared it with Russ.

All weekend Russ and I prayed and talked and wrestled with whether this was our little girl. By the end of the weekend we were feeling that maybe this was right but we didn't know much about her yet.

Monday I called and e-mailed asking for information on the little girl. The director of Guatemalan adoption said that they had not recieved all the information on the little girl yet as she was a very new referral. She would e-mail the Guatemalan agency but said it may take till the end of the week. Russ and I just prayed.

Three hours later I recieved her information!!! Just another little miracle. What's more amazing is what was in the information.

This little girl is from a very poor family. Her mother loves her sincerely. When the hurricane hit their village it was wiped out. They lost what little they had. Their home and their harvest and any hope of having a harvest next year. This was the final straw in a series of many things (which we will keep private) that had caused her mother to consider adoption.

Her mother placed her in foster care and told the agency if she wasn't placed immediately for adoption she would come get her. She wanted her to have a good family. The mother came back to get her after two weeks but the little girl told her how well she being treated and that an American family would come get her soon. Her mother felt that this was the best thing for her daughter. The little girl says that she wants to be adopted.

I know that this is probably an extremely difficult situation for most of us as Americans to understand. We can't fathom what these people face on a daily basis. Guatemala is a beautiful country and full of wonderful culture and people.

It is an extremely impoverished country. Many people live in corrugated tin houses with no running water or heat and mud floors. Education is a luxury and food is not always readily available. Many babies die from malnutrition. This is life in a third world country.

I think of it as the show survivor but it's real life. No games, no million dollars and no medical team standing by.

This mother and child are faced with a decision to have her stay in a situation where she may not have enough to eat or even a roof and she may be unsafe or come to America. They know she will be well clothed, well fed, educated and loved. I can only pray that I would be as unselfish as this mother if faced with making that decision for my child. She is beyond amazing and noble in my estimation.

She came to us through the mudslides just like I thought. She was well loved and bonded with her mother. As soon as we read her story we knew she was ours!

We called the agency immediately and told them that we would like to accept the referral of this little one. Adopting out of birth order requires special permission from our social worker and a panel of Dillon social workers. We were approved today by both!!

What do you do next??

A LOT OF PAPERWORK!!! Don't expect to see me around much for the next couple of weeks. I will be busy working on getting my baby girl home from Guatemala.

In the next week or so we will hopefully turn in our dossier. (a collection of documents that represent you in court in Guatemala) Then we wait and wait and wait for our slow government and their slow government to process a million things. We will get to bring her home sometime between March-June. We are praying for March but will trust God for His timing. In our waiting time we can go visit her in Guatemala. So we are planning to go a couple of times while we wait. It looks like we may have some proud grandparents coming too!!!

We will send her scrapbooks, letters and whatever we can to help her feel more comfortable with the transition. We will also send letters and pictures to the birth mother so she will know who we are. We can only pray that it will give her some measure of comfort and peace. If the birth mother wants to meet us we would love to do that. We are told that many Guatemalan mothers feel too ashamed to do that right away. We will pray for her.

Can the parents change their mind?

The parents have the right to change their minds and parent their birth child until the time we bring her home. However, it is extremely rare that this happens. If the parents make this decision we will be fully supportive of them in every way. We would love to help them in whatever way we can. It would be very difficult for us but we would rejoice for them. Then our home would be open for another child who needs a home. We would be given a new referral almost immediately and incur no extra cost. (except the cost of extra visits) To us this wouldn't be a failure but another part of God's plan.

What will your little girl do now?

She will stay with the same foster family until we come and get her. She is already bonding very well with them. We are so grateful for wonderful foster mothers who give their hearts to care for these children.

Will you change her name?

Her name is Mirna Aracely. We will most likely change it to Krysta Zoe but we want to speak with her first. Many adoptive children want to change to an American name so they will not feel different. We may consider making it a second middle name. Krysta Zoe Mirna Weir. Then she can choose what to go by as she gets older. We'll see.

For now I'm calling her Zoe cause' I just think she looks like a Zoe!!! What do you think???